The Truth About Remote

Schooling
It’s clear that we are nowhere near ready.
Posted Jul 15, 2020

SHARE

TWEET

EMAIL

Has anyone had a conversation this summer without moaning and groaning about
kids being home? Everywhere I look, I see articles, posts, and rants about online
schooling. It feels like the anxiety has rolled in and enveloped us all. For now, we
seem resigned to it. Not that we like it. And we definitely like griping about it. But
what’s looming is even more befuddling: the 2020-21 school year. As many of us
learned this week, schools all over the country will not open campuses to start the
year. Our kids are going to keep Zooming. And Zooming. And Zooming.

So what’s the truth about remote schooling? It’s simple: We. Aren’t. Ready.
 1. There's a baseline of effectiveness. Yes, students can learn remotely, but
there are countless pieces to the puzzle. To start, there are a few key principles that
are fairly well-established:

 Logistics. Research suggests that some in-person element is superior to

online only.
 Intervention. Teachers need to provide individual attention to students and
parents.
 Pedagogy. There is evidence that a combination of synchronous (live
instruction) and asynchronous (pre-recorded/pre-prepared materials) learning
produces better results than one or the other.
After that, it gets exponentially more difficult.

2. Massive resources are needed. I don't see a scenario in which large numbers
of kids are back on campuses next month. In the best cases, we're looking at some
combination of in-person and distance learning. That means maybe a few days a
week in person and the rest online. But even schools that open are likely to have to
close once a case or two appear in the community. On the upside, we’ll save a lot
on back-to-school shopping.